


Couldn't See You Coming

by stargazerdaisy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No SHIELD (Marvel), Don't care, Evie's birthday fic, F/M, Nerf Gun Battle, Soulmate AU, This is basically pure fluff, add another one to the list, bed sharing, how many different ways can I make these two idiots fall in love?, nicknames galore, possibly an abuse of italics, proper narrative structure - who needs that?, sex pollen joke, the author will not be held responsible for any diabetic comas or cavities resulting from this fic, where I just straight up threw out standard writing rules, wherein I shoved in as many tropes and ridiculous lines and references that I could
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:10:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargazerdaisy/pseuds/stargazerdaisy
Summary: “You could see me coming!  Why didn’t you stop the bus?  I was almost here!” Skye screeched at him, causing the smirk to break out completely.  “And now you’re laughing at me?  Oooohhhhh, you’re about to have a big problem.”“You don’t look that big,” he replied unconcerned.At his sentence, they both froze as a burning sensation encircled their left wrists.  Skye yanked up the sleeve of her jacket.  “What the hell is going on?”Skye and Ward discover they are a soulmate match.  Now they have to spend a month together and decide where they want to go from there.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> _Thank you so much to Airaze and Ves for reading and offering help along the way.  I had more than one meltdown over this and their feedback (both constructive and flaily) was invaluable._  
> 
> Happy Birthday my darling [Evie](http://evieoh.tumblr.com)!!!  
> 
> I wrote this with little plan as to where it would go and what it was going to be, but I knew it needed to be funny and sweet and loooovvvee.  So here you go, my meager contribution where I threw out all the rules and made it up as I went, without attention to pesky things like structure, plot, and showing not telling.  I love you muchly, dear, and I hope your face melts off.  
> 
> Xoxo,  
> Daisy

It was raining, because of course it would be raining, as she raced to the bus stop.   Her umbrella had been left in the apartment, her hood was falling off as she ran, and she was pretty sure that her shoes were never going to dry out today.  But that doesn’t matter, because if she missed this bus, she’d be late to work and if that happened again, her boss would tear her a new one.  So she booked it down the block, praying the driver sees her coming and holds on for another four seconds.  But since the universe was conspiring against her, the bus not only pulled away just as she reached the back bumper, but it rolled through a puddle and splashed dirty water all over her.  

She was standing there, dripping and seething, when she heard a chuckle from her right.  Under the shelter was Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome (she nicknamed him that after the third day in a row of seeing him at the bus stop), trying and failing to contain a smirk at her expense.  Unfortunately, while the cheekbones had given her a little thrill every morning for the last two weeks, this morning they only served to incense her.  

“You could see me coming!  Why didn’t you stop the bus?  I was almost here!” Skye screeched at him, causing the smirk to break out completely.  “And now you’re laughing at me?  Oooohhhhh, you’re about to have a big problem.”

“You don’t look that big,” he replied, unconcerned.

At his sentence, they both froze as a burning sensation encircled their left wrists.  Skye yanked up the sleeve of her jacket.  “What the hell is going on?”

The guy just groaned.  “Are you serious?  This is happening _now_?” he muttered.

“ **What** is happening now?” she bit out.

He rolled his eyes and showed her his wrist.  The words ‘You could see me coming’ were written clearly across the skin.  Skye’s jaw dropped and she glanced down at her own arm.  ‘You don’t look that big’ echoed through her head as she tried to process what had just happened.  The words she’d stared at since she was 13 finally had meaning.   _She had found her soulmate match._  And from the looks on both their faces, neither one of them was particularly enthused about the development.  

“I don't have time for this right now,” he grumbled, shaking his head.  “I can't be gone from work for a month.”

“I’m sorry, what?  Where are you going and why is this relevant to what just happened?”

He looked at her in disbelief.  “Do you seriously not know what is about to happen? How soulmate matches work? Did your parents never explain it to you?”

Skye scowled at his assumption, even though she knew he’d have had no way to know about her story.  “I grew up with a bunch of nuns; not exactly the kind of people whose lives revolve around soulmates.  I just knew I had the words and that someday I’d hear them and then POOF!  Soulmates.”

If he picked up on what ‘growing up with a bunch of nuns’ meant and had any pity for her, it wasn’t apparently on his face, she gratefully noted.  He just accepted what she said and explained, “Well, when you find your soulmate match, the two of you get shipped off to a little retreat or something for a month.  It’s basically to get to know each other.  But your entire life gets put on hold, and I have a huge project for work in a week and I really can’t drop it right now.”

She blinked a couple times.  “Well, that’s a lot to take in.”  She paused for a moment. “So let me get this straight.  Because we said some magic words and our wrists burned like acid was being dripped on them - which still freaking hurts, by the way - we’re now supposed to drop everything in our lives and go shack up for a month?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, well, that’s not happening,” she stated and started looking down the street.  “Anyway, I have to go now.  If I hustle, I can catch another bus a couple of blocks over and then maybe I won’t get fired.”

She started walking away and once his brain processed what she’d said, he shouted after her.  “Wait!  We have to figure this out!”

“Not today!” she called back.

“I don’t even know your name!”

She turned around with a mischievous smile.  “Skye.”

He noticed she didn’t ask for his, but he offered it anyway.  “Ward.”

“Well, Ward, lovely to meet you.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”

“Skye, we’re going to need to talk about this,” he lectured.

She quirked an eyebrow at him.  “Same time tomorrow?  This time, hold the bus for me?”

He smiled back.  “Sure thing, _Soulmate_.”

*   *   *   *   * 

The knock at the door startled Skye.  It was dark already and she wasn’t expecting anyone.  Thinking it might be Kara, Skye answered the door. Needless to say, the government official in a suit was the last thing she was expecting.

“Good evening, Skye,” he said smoothly, flashing a badge. “I'm Agent Phil Coulson. We have a lot to talk about.”

“It wasn't me!” she squeaked out.

The man chuckled. “I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I assure you this is a friendly visit.”

“Who ever heard of a friendly visit from the government?” 

“Touché,” he replied, then gestured behind her. “How about I come in and explain it?”

Shock could be the only explanation for why she stepped back and ushered him in. Agent Coulson looked around the room as they settled on the couch.  Skye was quickly getting uneasy as he just sat there smiling but not saying anything, like he was content to just sit there with her all night.

“You said you were going to explain.  So, explain,” she burst out.

“So I did,” he agreed.  “I understand you made your soulmate match earlier today.  I’m here to help you with the arrangements.”

“Wha-?  Huh?  HOW did you know that?” she asked, flabbergasted.

“It’s my job to know these things.”  He was so placid in his response, Skye was having a hard time not shrieking at him in sheer frustration.

“And I’m just supposed to accept that?  Are you spying on me?  Is there some tracker injected in me?  Are you psychic?  Oh my gosh, you have pre-cogs, don’t you?  My life is turning into a bad sci-fi movie.”

“I assure you, we don’t have pre-cogs.  And I wish I could explain it all to you, but really I only understand about a third of it, and that’s all classified.  Suffice it to say, we do know and like I said, I’m here to help you.”

“Help me how?  What is there to do?  The match happened, okay cool.  Isn’t this where we fall madly in love and can’t live without the other?  Sorry buddy, but I don’t think I need you for that part.”

The man in the suit was nonplussed by her dismissal.  “Oh, I’m sure I’m not much help with that.  But there’s the whole soulmate month we need to arrange.  And that’s where I come in.”

“Month?  Oh my gosh, he was serious?!  We really are going to get sent off to who-knows-where for a whole month?  Are you going to force us to mate?  I’m so not ready for that and don’t think you can make me do it,” she threatened.

“Nothing like that, I assure you.  It’s just a way for the soulmates to get to know each other without the distractions of real life.  We’ve found it results in stronger relationships and fewer broken bonds.”

“What’s the big deal if this doesn’t pan out?  Relationships end all the time.  And if we’re soulmates, shouldn’t it just automatically work?  What’s with all the special attention?”

“Those are some great questions.  I take it you don’t know much about soulmate bonds?” he asked.

Skye bristled. “So what?  Just because I didn’t spend my life daydreaming about something that was never going to happen...”

He nodded.  “It’s understandable.  You’re certainly not the only one.  You might be surprised at how many people don’t know anything when these things happen.  Let me help fill in some of the blanks for you.  Everyone is born with the potential for a soulmate match, but they don’t always come to fruition.  I’m guessing your words showed up sometime in your teens?”

Skye nodded.

“Well, the words aren’t a guarantee that you will meet your soulmate.  Mostly that the potential is still there, and that when you do meet them, you’ll know it.  You knew something had happened right away today, right?”

“It’s kind of hard to not notice the sensation of flames melting my skin,” she huffed.

“Some people have their soulmarks for their entire lives, but because of happenstance, they never meet their mate.  Other meet their soulmates, but for various reasons the relationships end and they go their separate ways.  Some people who have soulmates but don’t end up with them choose to go on and find other relationships.  Some choose to remain single for the rest of their lives.  But there can be a whole host of problems when people who met their soulmates end up separating from them.  Because of that, we try to give new soulmate pairs the best start possible.”

There was something in his eyes when he talked about separating from a soulmate that caused the snarky retort to stall in her mouth.  It was like he knew exactly what he was talking about and truly didn’t want that to happen to anyone else.  That made her stop long enough to really think about what he was saying.

“Okay then.  Let’s go along with this whole idea that this soulmate thing will actually work.  Why, again, would we need to be alone for a month?  Isn’t that just all kinds of awkward?  We don’t know each other at all and you expect us to live together happily ever after?”

“I know, it sounds totally crazy, doesn’t it?” Coulson chuckled conspiratorially.  “Think about it this way?  How many times have you talked yourself out of something that could have been amazing, because when compared against your day to day life, it was terrifying?  Why not give yourself the best chance to investigate this without all the pressures of work and bills and family drama?  That’s what I do.  I help you make arrangements with your job, take care of your bills, and set you up in a nice place with as few stressors as possible, so you can focus entirely on your soulmate and your relationship with him.  It’s basically a free vacation.”

Skye had to admit, that sounded pretty appealing, but she still wasn’t ready to agree completely.  “But what if I don’t want that?  Do I have a choice in this?”

“You always have a choice, Skye.  I’m merely here to offer opportunities, but you have the power to say no at any time.  Before you do though, I want you to consider, that you’ll be making choices not only for yourself, but for Ward as well.  I’m not guilt tripping you, I promise.  I just wanted to remind you that there is someone else in the equation.”

Oh.  He was right.  There was Ward to consider here as well.  Did he want to do this?  She wasn’t sure she did, but if he was open to it, then maybe?  

Skye chewed on her bottom lip while she thought about what he was telling her.  “Okay fine, I’ll hear you out.  Tell me about these options, what the plans will be.  I’ll go along for now.”

Agent Coulson gave her another warm smile.  “Excellent.  Now, let’s talk about where to go.”

*   *   *   *   * 

The bar was definitely busy, but it wasn’t loud or crazy, so they would be able to talk comfortably without sticking out awkwardly.  Ward pulled out the chair for her as they sat down at their table.  She hadn’t expected that, but she offered him a small smile.  

“So, um, this is awkward…” she started.

He looked chagrined.  “Not much else we can do, right?”

“Guess not,” she said.  “Can you believe we have to go live in the woods for a month?”

He shrugged.  “It’s not so bad.  Actually, it’s kinda fun.”

“Yeah, but couldn’t we have gone to the beach?  Some tropical island sounds pretty awesome right about now.  Or like, Paris or Rome or something?”

He gave her a droll look. “Skye, the point isn’t to go to on vacation and tour the sights.  The point is to get to know each other without distractions.”

“I know, but still.  It _is_ kind of a vacation.  Oh well, it’s still a month away from everything else, so I’ll take it, even if it means a less than desirable location.  Anyway, I’m glad you agreed to meet with me.  It seemed like maybe we should know at least _something_ about each other before we start shacking up. So, Ward, tell me- wait! Is Ward your first name or last name?”

He glanced down at his drink before answering, completely monotone. “Last name.”

Skye waited a moment for him to elaborate, but he stayed quiet.  “...And what is your first name? Or might as well give me your whole name while we're at it.”

Ward sighed. “Grant Douglas Ward. And you're Skye…?”

Her mouth twisted slightly at that, then she tossed her hair. “Last I checked, my ID said Skye Johnson. No middle name.” 

She was playing it like a joke, but there was a slightly brittle edge to her voice that made him think there was more to her name than she was letting on. But he let it pass for now. He'd either find out eventually or it wasn't important, no need to pry. 

“Nice to officially meet you, Skye Johnson,” he said, extending his hand out to shake. 

“And you too, Grant Ward,” she grinned as they shook. “So, tell me your deepest darkest secrets.”

He rolled his eyes, “Skye, we don't need to jump right to that.”

“But why not? We're soulmates, right? Gonna find out eventually, lover.” The wink she threw at the last word made him choke on his drink. She giggled at his discomfort, but warmly enough that he huffed a laugh or two himself. “Fine,” she relented. “Let's start with the basics. What do you do for a living?”

“Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid. I'm an actuary. You?”

“Graphic designer. Though, I've only been at this job for like eight months and I'm 64% sure my boss hates me.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “ _Only_ 64%? Huh.” 

“Hey!” she cried. “I'll have you know that not only am I great at what I do, but I am a perfect delight. Victoria should be thanking her lucky stars she has me.”

“Okay then,” he acquiesced with such a bland tone that if she didn't see his eyes twinkling, she'd be sure he was doubting her.

“Shut up,” she snarked, pushing his shoulder.

He stiffened for just a second at the unexpected contact, then forced himself to relax and gave her a timid smile.  

“So what time should I pick you up tomorrow?” he asked.

Skye blinked at him.  “Wait, _you’re_ picking me up?  Coulson told me I was being picked up, but I figured it would be by him and we’d end up meeting there.”

“Originally it was going to be.  But I told him I might as well drive us up there, since we were going to same place.  Plus, that way, I got to bring my car and we weren’t completely stranded for four weeks.”

“Oh,” she breathed, unsure of what to make of this development. 

“Is that okay?  Sorry, I should have asked you first.  That’s probably too awkward.  Don’t worry, I’ll call Coulson and tell him to pick you up-”

“Ward,” she cut in.  “It’s fine.  It just caught me off guard, that’s all.  Like I said earlier, no reason to delay it, right?”

He nodded, still looking uncomfortable.

She went on, “As for what time, Coulson said 8am, but is that really necessary?  How far away is this place anyway?”

“About six hours,” he answered.

“See?  Then no sweat.  We can leave at 10, stop for lunch, and still make it there in plenty of time before dinner.”

“Skye…”  His voice was dangerously close to whining by his own estimation.  “We don’t want to take all day.  Let’s get an early start and then we can spend the afternoon getting set up.”

“Nope, no way.  Ward, consider this Lesson #1 about me: I don’t do anything before noon, if I don’t have to.  What does it matter if we don’t get there until evening?  Are we being timed or something?”

“No. I just want to have enough time.”

“For what?  Dude, it’s going to be just fine.  We’ll get there, we’ll enjoy the trip, no need to rush or hurry.”  He still looked unconvinced.  “Or is that not allowed with your programming?”

That caught his attention.  “Huh?”

“Well, you’re being so rigid, I’m starting to think you’re a robot,” she joked.

“Fine, fine!  You win.  We’ll leave at 10, but please be ready?” He was practically pleading at this point.

Skye grinned, quite satisfied with herself.  “Don’t worry.  We’ve got this thing wired.”

*   *   *   *   * 

She was fidgeting, playing with her fingers, tapping against the armrest, bouncing her knee.  It was a blatant display of nerves, and she knew it, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop.  As she tugged on the sleeve of her flannel shirt, she caught a glimpse of the words on her wrist.  ‘You don’t look that big’.  It was a phrase she’d read who knows how many times and had never quite understood.  In fact, she'd even heard it from a couple people, but they obviously hadn't been her soulmate match.  It was such a random phrase and yet she was supposed to base her entire life around it. How exactly what was that supposed to work?  

And now, she’d heard it.  From her soulmate.  The match had been made and now they were going to be living together for an entire month, almost no contact from anyone else, not to mention expected to fall madly in love.  It was all a bit much and Skye was trying to process it all, but it wasn’t that easy.  She had been on her own for pretty much all her life.  Surrounded by people, yes.  You couldn’t get away from people in the orphanage.  But she never really belonged to anyone and she’d gotten used to it.  Now she _did_ belong to someone.  And someone belonged to her.  They were matched, a pair, yet were still strangers to each other.  

She reflected on what she knew about him.  She knew he had cheekbones that could cut glass and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t mind waking up to that sight every morning for the rest of her life.  But he had certainly seemed disappointed when the match was made and almost dreading spending time with her. The whole concept was wild enough to her, but his reaction hadn’t exactly gotten her all excited about it.  But then, she actually spent some real time with him.  It was only an hour or so the night before, but it was something.   Now she knew his full name, his job, the fact that he liked his liquor neat, that he was a type-A kind of guy who was very focused on the end point - not so much the journey, and that while he hid it quite a bit, he actually had a good sense of humor.  This didn’t sum up to a big revelation of undying love, but she’d had worse starts, might as well see where it would go.

He was also rather quiet.  That was obvious as her multiple attempts to start a conversation were met with one word answers and very little elaboration.  She couldn’t tell if that was intentional, that he didn’t want to talk to her, or if he was uncomfortable and didn’t know how.  One of those she could work with, but the other would be much more difficult.  As she was musing over how best to proceed, her stomach interrupted on her behalf, growling loudly.  

Ward sent her a sideways glance.  “You okay there?”

“Just hungry,” she replied.  “How soon are we stopping for lunch?”

“There’s a box of protein bars in the back,” he offered, gesturing over his shoulder, his eyes staying stubbornly on the road.  

She didn’t respond, didn’t move, just sat there, staring him down.

After a moment, he finally shifted and looked at her again.  “What?”

“I am not eating a protein bar.”

“Why not?  They’re perfectly healthy.”  He was truly confused by her refusal.

“But they taste like cardboard,” she said.

“I think those ones are blueberry?”

“So blueberry cardboard.  Nope, not gonna work.  You need to feel me real food.”  Her demands were clear.

Ward huffed.  “Skye, come on, if we stop it’ll tack on an extra hour or so.”

Skye rolled her eyes, “Just like all other boyfriends, so impatient.”

Ward’s eyes widened just a touch before the corner of his mouth quirked.  “Impatient boyfriend, eh?  I think I like that.”

Skye’s cheeks flushed and she shoved his shoulder.  “Shut up,” she growled, even though there was a smile flirting on her face as well.  “Feed me, seriously.  Or else I’ll keep this up for the rest of the trip.”  She started poking him in the arm, over and over, in the same spot on his bicep.  

“Quit it or I’ll bite,” he deadpanned.

“Is that a promise?” She was openly grinning at him now.  

He chuckled.  “Okay, you win.  You’ve been glued to your phone since we left.  Why don’t you solve your own problem and look up a place for us to stop.  But somewhere fast - half hour, tops. Okay?”

Skye gave him a salute.  “You’ve got it.  Any special dietary restrictions I should take into account?  What do robots even eat, anyway?”

“I’m not a robot.”

“Sure,” she smirked.  “Whatever you say.  Now look at this!  There’s a drive-in with great reviews about 10 miles ahead.  What do you say to some onion rings, T-1000?”

*   *   *   *   * 

The sun was setting when they pulled up to the cabin.  Ward gave her one pointed look about it, but didn’t comment.  Skye shrugged it off.  What was the big deal anyway?  They made their way inside and surveyed their surroundings.  It wasn’t a large space.  A cozy living room, a dining area off to the side of the kitchen, and a hallway that she assumed led to the bedrooms and bathrooms.  It wasn’t flashy, but it was clean and looked quite comfortable.  That couch alone looked like somewhere she would enjoy spending a lot of time.  It even had a nice TV and entertainment system.  

“Oooh, what’s this?” Skye asked, spying a basket on the table.  “ ‘Enjoy your month.  All the best, Coulson.’  Well, that’s nice of him.  Hmmm…”  Skye pawed through the goodies, which mostly seemed to be snacks and movies.  It appeared Coulson was a classic movie buff, considering the DVDs of Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and My Fair Lady.  (Though the Captain America movie made her chuckle.)

Spying the contents over her shoulder, Ward moved to the kitchen and started opening cupboards.  “I wonder if there’s any food,” he said.  

Leaving him to search, since she considered popcorn and gummy worms a perfectly acceptable dinner, she ventured down the hallway to claim a bedroom. However, there was only one door besides the linen closet. Grimacing at what she was pretty sure she'd find, Skye opened the door and confirmed her suspicions. There was only one bedroom, with only one big bed. She gulped as she continued to stare at the bed.  Were they really expected to share a bed? They were still strangers! They'd only known each other just over a week. This was pushing it for forcing intimacy.

“If you share the dresser, I'll take the couch.”

She startled at the sound of his voice, so lost in her thoughts she hasn't heard him come up behind her. “I didn't, I mean, it's….”

Ward brushed her arm with his hand. “Don't worry about it. I don't mind. Slept on a lot worse than a couch before.”

She nodded quickly, hoping that he couldn't see just how relieved she was. She didn't want him to feel rejected, it was just that everything had been moving so fast, she wasn't sure she could handle one more monumental shift like that. At least not tonight. 

“So, find anything in the kitchen?” she asked, hoping to move on before any awkwardness developed. 

“Not much, but there's enough to pull together something for tonight. Unless you hate pancakes. In which case, we might as well pack up and leave right now. Because pancakes are my favorite, and there's no way I could be with someone who hated them.” He was so matter of fact it made her laugh.

“No worries there. I happen to be a big fan of pancakes. Even more so if there are chocolate chips and whipped cream involved.”

Ward groaned. “You're one of them, aren't you? Having to dress up an already perfect food with extra sugar and another texture. The only things you need with pancakes are butter and maple syrup.”

“And what are you? A pancake purist?  Shaming others for their adventurous and varied tastes?”

“Yes.”

“You’re completely ridiculous,” she giggled.

“But I’m right,” he said, wagging a finger at her.  “Anyway, we don’t have chocolate chips and whipped cream, so you’ll have to make do with the very best pancakes in the world, in their proper form.”  

Twenty minutes later, Skye was too busy eating to admit that Ward was right.  His pancakes were to die for.  

“We’ll need to get some groceries tomorrow,” Ward told her.

“Mmhmm,” was about all Skye could manage with a full mouth.  She swallowed and replied, “So, do you like, cook?”

“Yeah, I can cook.  I’m no gourmet or anything, but I can do pretty well for myself.  How about you?”

“If you need a frozen burrito microwaved, I’m your girl,” she joked.  “I can do a few simple things, pasta, burgers, stuff like that.  Though somehow rice has always escaped me.  It ends up both soggy and crunchy at the same time.”

He snorted.  “Good to know.  I can handle any rice needs.  Is there anything you absolutely love or hate?”

“Um…..I hate….fish.  Passionately.  Anything that smells that bad is not meant to be eaten.”  Skye wrinkled her nose at the thought.  “You?”

“I hate ketchup.  It’s the most useless of all the condiments.  Give me some barbecue sauce or mustard anyday, but ketchup is just, blah.”  It was his turn to look disgusted.

“Chocolate,” Skye chimed in.  “Call me a stereotypical girl, but I love chocolate.  Dark chocolate over milk chocolate.  White chocolate only in small amounts.”

Ward nodded.  “Bacon.  I try to eat pretty healthy, but I will slap bacon on top of almost anything.”

“So we just need some chocolate covered bacon and we’re set?” she laughed.

“Pretty much,” he agreed.

They traded other food likes and dislikes back and forth as the evening grew to a close.  Skye caught Ward stifling a yawn, but when she called him out for it, she cracked a wide yawn herself.  “I’ll take care of the dishes, if you want to go get ready for bed and everything.  You can have first crack at the bathroom,” she offered.

“I can help,” he said.

She shook her head. “You cooked, it’s only fair that I clean.  Plus it’s not much.  Go ahead.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I am.”  She smiled encouragingly.  “Go initiate your shutdown sequence or whatever you need to do.”

Ward hesitated another moment, then ducked his head in agreement and gave her a shy smile, heading to the bathroom.  

 

That night as Skye laid in bed, she found herself thinking that maybe this month wouldn’t be so bad after all.  

*   *   *   *   * 

Ward had already been up for at least three hours when Skye stumbled into the living room.

“Tell me there’s coffee,” she mumbled, eyes barely open.  

“Yes, but no creamer,” he answered, amused by her disheveled pajamas and hair sticking out everywhere.  How she was able to navigate the kitchen her eyes closed, he had no idea.  

Skye sighed, “Guess that’ll have to do for today.”  She poured herself a cup and then dropped dramatically onto the couch.

Ten minutes later, half the cup gone, she actually opened her eyes and looked over at him.  “How long have you been awake?”

“Since 6:00am.”

“Why?!”

Ward shrugged.  “I normally get up about 5:30am to work out and stuff.  I put it off a little bit longer today because you were still asleep and I didn’t want to bother you by coming in to shower.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, taking another sip.  “Well, it’s fine if you do.  I sleep like a log, you won’t wake me up.”

“Good to know.”

A comfortable silence settled in as the two sat next to each other.  “We need to go to the store today,” Ward brought up.  “I started a list.  Is there anything in particular you want?”

“Ice cream.  Cheetos.  Cookie dough, or at least the stuff to make it.  Hot Pockets,” she rattled off.

Ward stared at her, disgusted.  “You can’t be serious.  None of that is actual food!”

“Ice cream is a dairy product!  Of course, it’s food.  I need calcium.  You don’t want my bones getting brittle before I’m old, do you?”

“You can get calcium from plenty of other sources.  Cheese, dark leafy vegetables, and so on.  You don’t need ice cream for that.”

“Whatever, ice cream is happening.  The rest of it?  Well, I’m more of a see-what-I-feel-like girl when I get to the store,” she said.

He looked at her again, like he couldn’t quite believe what she was saying.  “Skye, we need a plan.”

“Why?”

He sputtered, “Because...we do!”

Skye laughed and then patted his cheek.  “Then go ahead and make one, Robot.  I’m going to go get ready.”

He watched her flounce away, his mind still trying to catch up to her complete disregard for planning.  What was so wrong with having a strategy?  It wasn’t like he wanted to spend all day in the grocery store, wandering around, waiting for something to strike his fancy.  If they had a plan and focused, they could get it done much faster.  Ward groaned to himself, realizing how the day might go much differently than he imagined.  And if they were this different on how they handled mundane, everyday tasks, how were they going to handle the bigger stuff?  

*   *   *   *   * 

Grocery shopping went better than he had expected.  It only took about 30 minutes and three arguments about fresh produce more than he would have preferred.  The next couple days passed in relative calm and peacefulness.  They cooked, they ate, they watched the tv, they each spent some time reading or relaxing on their own.  Skye proved to not be as much of a slob as he expected and he was not nearly as uptight as she’d been worried.  They enjoyed being around each other, but nothing too much had happened yet.  Until the evening of the third day.  Ward was getting dinner prepared, while Skye hung out on the couch.  

“Ow!” he yelped.

Skye looked up.  “What happened?”

“Nothing,” he ground out.

“Liar,” she muttered, walking over to him.  When she saw him cradling his hand, she reached out for it.  “Let me see.”

He scowled and pulled it further out of her reach.  “I’m fine.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Ward,” she said sternly.  “Don’t be a baby, let me help you.”

He grunted, but slowly showed her his cut fingers.

“You’re an idiot,” she cursed under her breath.  “I swear, I’ve met smarter sandwiches.”

“Hey!” he cried indignantly.

“Oh hush.  Even you can’t explain how this was an intelligent move.  I thought actuaries were supposed to be all about calculating probabilities and risk and trying to avoid them?”

His jaw dropped.  “You actually know what I do?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, still focused on stopping the bleeding from his hand.  “I looked it up before we came here.  Figured I should have an idea of what you do before I spent a month with you.”  He just kept gaping long enough that she looked up.  “What?  It’s not like I missed you or anything.  Just wanted to make sure ‘actuary’ wasn’t a clever term for ‘ax murderer’.”

He huffed a laugh and then hissed as she manipulated the fingers again.  “That _hurts_.”

“I know,” she said sympathetically.  “But the good news is, you don’t need stitches.  The cuts are shallow enough, we just need to bandage them well and they’re heal just fine, as long as you don’t mess with them too much.”

“Good,” he replied.

“Guess that means I’ll be on kitchen duty for a couple of days,” she said with a wink.

“Heaven help us all!  It’s going to be tacos every night, won’t it?”

“Shut up!  Tacos are obviously the best thing ever, and if you don’t like them, you must be a pod person,” she laughed.  “Now let’s go get you put back together, Humpty Dumpty.”

*   *   *   *   * 

He had been in the bathroom for about 10 minutes, taking care of his normal nighttime routine.  He was just about ready to walk out, but found himself hesitating.  He knew Skye was in the bedroom, he had heard her puttering around as well.  It wasn’t that he was avoiding her, quite the contrary.  They seemed to be turning a corner, moving from merely accepting the other person’s presence, to actually encouraging and inviting it.  If he came out now, he’d have to bid her good night and go out to the living room, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to end the night.  But staying in the bathroom all night wouldn’t help either.  Gathering up his clothes, he opened the door and headed out.  

Sure enough, she was laying on the bed, already in her pajamas, watching something on her tablet, giggling to herself.  

“Bathroom’s free,” he said, making his way to the door.  “So, uh, good night, I guess.”

Skye didn’t look up, but waved him over.  “Come watch this,” she said.  He hesitated long enough that she looked up at him.  “Come on, Robot,” she reiterated, patting the space next to her.

He flopped down and situated himself against the pillows.  “What are we watching?”

“This is one of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen.  Here, let me start it over so you can see it from the beginning.”

 _‘Here we will explore True Facts about Marsupials,’_ the video began.  Ward raised an eyebrow at Skye.  She just shushed him and told him to wait.  Sure enough, within two minutes, they were both cackling and grabbing their stomachs.  When that one ended, Skye pulled up another one, and before they knew it, an hour had gone by and they were both yawning.  

Ward groaned and rolled to his side. “I should probably go now,” he said.

Just as he was about to stand up, Skye spoke.  “You can stay, if you want.”  

He looked at her, seeing the apprehension on her face.  “Yeah?” he asked.

She gave him a small smile. “Yeah.”

“Okay then,” he said, pulling back the comforter to crawl under the covers.  He rolled on his side, facing her.  “Good night, Skye.”

She flipped off her lamp and settled down facing him as well.  “Good night, Grant.”

*   *   *   *   * 

He tried to creep out of the bed as quietly as possible.  He thought he was managing it until he felt a small hand wrap around his wrist.

“No,” she grumbled.  “Too early.”

He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand back. “It’s okay, Skye.  Go back to sleep.”

Her face screwed up in a scowl, even though her eyes never opened, and she rolled over, pulling the blankets tighter around her shoulders.  Within moments, she was breathing evenly again, sleep having pulled her back under.

Ward took another moment to watch her, then quickly changed and headed outside for a run.  During his workout, he kept thinking about her.  They had been up in the cabin for a week now.  There had been no groundbreaking moments, no earth shattering declarations of love, but he could still feel things changing between them.  He could feel her burrowing her way inside him, without either of them even trying.  The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know.  It should have scared him, it should have been freaking terrifying, but instead, it was just comfortable.  It was like all the pieces in a puzzle were coming together and he could see the entire picture for the first time.  And it seemed like a picture that included her.  

*   *   *   *   * 

“What does this even mean?” Skye asked, dropping onto the couch next to him.  

He raised an eyebrow at her.  “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“This,” she said, showing him the words on her wrist.  “The whole soulmate thing?”

Seeing this was likely to be a long conversation, he marked his spot in the book and put it down, in order to properly focus on her.  She had this air of frustration and almost uncertainty about her, so he knew it wasn’t a time to be flippant or dismissive.  He turned to face her.  “Well, the simple answer is the one you already know, those were the first words I said to you.  But I’m guessing you mean something deeper than that.”

“Yeah…” she hesitated, fighting with herself over whether to continue or not.  “It’s just……  What do you think this whole soulmate thing even means?  What is the point of it?  Is it really the fabulous be-all-end-all that it’s made out to be?”

Ward thought over her questions for a moment.  “I don’t know,” he began.

Skye snorted, “Lot of help you are.”

“Hear me out,” he said reassuringly.  “I’m not 100% positive if it is everything people claim it to be.  But I think it has the potential to be.”

“Really?  You think that there is only one right person for you?  That that person-” he noticed she was distinctly avoiding specifying herself, even though there was no one else it could be, “-will complete you in every way, make all your dreams come true, and be your all consuming true love forever and ever?”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on any single person.  I’m honestly not sold on the idea that there is only one person in the world that I could ever be happy with.  I think would be there are at least three or four.  I am ruggedly handsome after all.”

That cracked a small smile on her face.

He reached out and took her wrist in his hands.  Tracing the words, he said, “But I do think that _this_ means something important.  I think it means we could be that for each other, if we want it.  And if the universe or God or the fairies or whatever cosmic force seems to think so, then it’s probably worth finding out for ourselves.”

She looked at her wrist, and his fingers gently brushing across it, then looked up at him.  “You want to be with me?” she whispered.  

“I don’t want to give up on the chance to,” he said firmly.  

As he watched Skye absorb that, he saw a bit more confidence build in her.  Wanting to keep that going, he pulled her towards him, and tucked her in against his side, with an arm around her shoulders.  

“Let’s not stress too much about the big stuff, just take it one day at a time.  Consider it a big adventure, okay?“ he suggested.

“An adventure, eh?” she said, her grin growing.

“Can you think of a better description?”

“Sounds pretty good to me.”  She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Adventure, okay, I can do that.”

He smiled too and hugged her just a little closer.  

*   *   *   *   * 

The days passed, spending most of their time together.  Every morning, Grant got up early to go on a run and workout.  Skye would stumble out some time later, demanding coffee, then once she truly joined the land of the living, they’d make plans for the day.  Some days they explored through the woods.  Grant would tell her about different plants and ways to survive in the woods (she still had yet to discover why he knew all this since he hadn’t responded to her openings in the conversation).  At first Skye hated it, but went along because he compromised on a lot of things for her.  And let’s face it, there wasn’t much else they could do.  Somehow though, she really started enjoying it.  She still had no desire to live in the woods, but a two or three hour hike was a fun way to spend a morning.  Some days, especially if it was raining, they would just stay in and watch movies.  The cabin actually had a few good ones, and what they couldn’t scrounge up on DVD, Skye was able to find online somehow.  (Ward learned it was better not to know exactly how she accomplished that.)  Once in awhile, they’d make the drive into the small town to pick up groceries and other supplies or to hit the small diner so neither of them would have to cook.

But they did cook most of their meals themselves.  It was something to do and something they could do together.  Skye, true to her earlier explanation, could do a few basic dishes, but also had quite the penchant for frozen food.  Much to Grant’s chagrin, she insisted on buying Bagel Bites.  Even though he argued against even trying them, he was now hooked on them, wanting them just as often as she did.  This amused Skye to no end and she never let an opportunity to tease him about it go to waste.  When it came to cooking though, he did more of the heavy lifting.  Part of it was that he was just better at it, so if he wanted to eat something healthier and more diverse than pizza and scrambled eggs, he had to do it himself.  Part of it was that he genuinely enjoyed cooking.  Taking disparate ingredients and mixing and preparing them in such a way that turned them into a meal was fun to him.  It was predictable, as long as he followed the rules, and he was in control of the outcome.  Along the way, he taught Skye more.  She’d end up hanging out in the kitchen anyway, chattering away, so he started using her as a second pair of hands and when she showed an aptitude for his instructions, he made a more concerted effort.  It turned into one of their favorite things to do together.  If you had asked Skye a month ago about her feelings for asparagus, she would have answered with gagging noises and a disgusted face.  But now she knew just how delicious it could be when prepared well.  (And it didn’t hurt that Grant wasn’t kidding about his love for bacon.  Bacon makes everything better.)

No matter what they were doing, they ended up talking.  The subjects ranged far and wide, from the most inane to some deeply personal revelations.  Picking out cereal revealed (well, confirmed) to Ward that Skye had grown up in an orphanage, never having known her parents.  Frying chicken ended up with Skye learning that Ward never cared for Indiana Jones, but much preferred Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park (the name allegedly didn’t factor in), and his favorite dinosaur was the triceratops.  A hike to a meadow taught Grant that Skye’s favorite color was purple and her favorite flowers were daisies.  The day it was pouring rain and they watched six movies in total, Skye found out that Ward has a particular fondness for board games and immediately insisted they pull out a couple that she’d seen in the living room cupboard.

“Battleship!” she squealed.  “I haven’t played this in forever.”

“Are you sure you want to play this?” Ward asked.  “I used to cream my brothers at it.”

“I think I can take you on,” she smirked.  “Not like you’re a super spy or some military hotshot.  Are _you_ sure you want to take _me_ on?”

He scoffed, “Oh, bring it on.”

The game was set up and they began playing.  They each goodnaturedly called out their guesses, marking the (few) hits and (mostly) misses.  But then the momentum shifted and it became clear who was truly in control.

“G7.”

A deep sigh.  “Hit.”

“Yes!” she cheered, leaning back to snag another pretzel.  “So tell me again how you’re the master at this and I should be bowing to your ultimate expertise?”

He was indignant.  “Hey!  It’s important to get a feel for your partner’s thought process.  B10.”

Without missing a beat, she snapped back, “Nope.  And this isn’t thinking, it’s stabbing in the dark.  But it’s nice to take a break from the drill sergeant marches through the woods or the endless cooking lessons where I risk life and limb.”

“Well, you deserve a break.  I wouldn’t have pegged a graphic designer who didn’t know a paring knife from a butter knife to be learning so quickly.  But you’re picking things up pretty fast.”

“Did you just give me a compliment?”

“I- no.  I made a comment.”

“A kind one.  Did it physically hurt you to do that?”  She leaned forward and dropped her voice.  “Do you need an ice pack?”

Laughter erupted from him. 

“Ooooh!  A compliment and a smile!” she cooed, then grew serious.  “I don’t want to ruin the moment, but I’m going to have to respond with - G4.”

He looked down at his board and the smile slid right off his face, before a scowl took over.  He didn’t even move to add the peg before she pounced.

“Say it, Ward, say it,” she goaded.

“You sank my battleship,” he said in a monotone voice.

“Yessss!!  I beat you!”

“Best two out of three,” he protested.

“I beeeaat you!” she sing-songed.  

“Best two out of three!”

“Sorry buddy, but I’m going to have to take a rain check on that one.  This girl is still freezing cold and I think I have more than earned a bubble bath.”  She stretched as she got up from the table.  

“Need any help with that?”  The words slipped out before Grant’s brain caught up with his mouth.

As his words registered for both of them, Skye cheeks flushed and Grant immediately looked down, avoiding her gaze.  There was a beat of silence, then a soft snicker broke through.  Within seconds, Skye was doubled over laughing, just barely able to remain on her feet.  Ward froze for a moment, then joined in, chuckling right along with her.  Once she caught her breath, she rubbed his arm as she walked out of the room.

“Maybe next time, Mr. Fun Machine,” she said, with a wink.

*   *   *   *   * 

_‘Loser cooks dinner.  Direct shots only.  Good luck, Soulmate.’_ the note read, sitting next to the Nerf gun.  Ward stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly Skye meant by this.  He picked up the orange weapon, seeing it was already loaded with six lime green foam darts.  “So, I’m just supposed to go hunting her down with this?” he wondered aloud.

“Not like you’re gonna catch me anyway,” she yelled from the other room.

“You gave away your position!” he called back, charging into the kitchen.

“Not for long!” he heard just as the back door clattered shut.  

He found himself grinning, in spite of the sheer childishness that was this game.  She wanted a battle?  She would get it.  He wasn’t the Capture The Flag champion at summer camp four years in a row for nothing.  He quietly slipped out the front door, figuring she’d have set up an ambush at the back door.  Creeping around the side of the cabin, he kept his ears open for any noises that would tell him where she was.  A twig snapped, drawing his attention to the trees a few yards beyond the back patio.  The corner of his mouth quirked and he cocked the dart gun, just to be ready.  Quietly, he slipped into the treeline, a bit away from where he’d heard the noise, but slowly made his way in that direction.  Just as he reached the location he was sure he’d heard the sound, the click and whoosh of a dart being shot at him came from his left.  He ducked at the last second, the dart hitting a tree and falling down harmlessly.  He immediately turned in the direction the dart had come from, just in time to see a flash of Skye’s blue shirt flying by.  Oh, it was _so_ on now.  

 

Skye was trying hard to stifle her laughter at Ward’s cocky grin and then the look on his face when he heard the dart coming for him.  Well, that’s what he got for underestimating her.  She silently moved through the trees, right at the edge between the small yard and the woods.  Mindful of any stray branches or obstacles that would clue him in to where she was, she made her way to the other side of the cabin.  From there, she slipped out of the treeline and flush against the side of the building again.  She was just about to dash behind the car when a dart came whizzing at her head.  A very undignified yelp escaped her and she scrambled for cover, all the while hearing Ward’s deep chuckle. 

“Still didn’t get me!” she shouted.

“Not yet, but I will,” he replied.  

“Really?  You haven’t so far,” she called haughtily.  She circled around the back of the car, certain of where he was positioned now.  Ducking out for just a moment, she shot at his exposed side.  He dodged at the last second, but quickly returned fire.  They traded shots for another couple of minutes, until she was clicking against an empty magazine.

“Dammit,” she hissed under her breath.

“Sounds like you’re all out, sweetheart.  Guess that means I win,” he called.  “I can already smell the bacon.”

“You haven’t shot me yet, Ward.  Only direct shots count, remember?” 

“Oh, I remember,” he said.  “But I’m the one with the ammo and you’re not.  So I don’t see how you’re going to win.”

He had a point, Skye angrily admitted to herself.  She wasn’t ready to concede, though, and started look around frantically for a solution.  And then she saw it.  There were three darts lying just out of reach.  She’d be out in the open, but maybe if she moved fast, she could snatch them before Ward got her.  Not having any other choices, Skye took a deep breath and dashed out to grab them.  A shot rang out and she felt the dart hit her ankle.

“Gotcha!” he hollered, appearing from his hiding place.

“No way!” she protested.  “It hit the ground first, then bounced up.  It had to be a direct hit.  Them’s the rules.  And look, now I have three extra darts and you’re all out.”  She waved the foam projectiles at him.

Ward’s face quickly transformed from a scowl to a petrified look, as he scrambled to find cover.  She took aim, but her giggling grossly threw off her stability and all three shots were way off.  Now they were both out of ammo.  But there, in the dirt, halfway between them, was one last dart.  It was like a scene from a movie, where they both found it at same moment, then glanced up at each other, then started diving for it, seemingly in unison.  It ended in a clash of shoulders and plastic, the guns scattering, and limbs everywhere.  They were both laughing so hard it took a moment before Skye rolled over and stood up.  She reached a hand down and he took it, letting her pull him to his feet.  

They were both still chuckling lightly as he reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  The contact prompted her to look him right in the eyes.  He was staring back and suddenly the air whooshed from her lungs.  His eyes were softer than she’d ever seen them.  She watched his gaze flick down to her lips and she just knew what was about to happen.  The hand that was still lingering near her ear, gently cupped her cheek and he leaned forward.  

There were no fireworks. _Shouldn't first kisses be full of fireworks?_ she wondered. Especially first kisses between soulmates. But no, nothing exploding, no bright colors swirling, nothing distracting. Instead, there was this unexpected warmth, an almost palpable glow starting in her chest and flowing through her whole body. There was just this inescapable, unshakable feeling of rightness, that this was exactly where she belonged. 

His lips were soft and warm against hers, not demanding, not pushy, but solid and reassuring.  All too soon he broke away, but his hand remained resting on her jaw.  She wondered if she looked as dazed as she felt.  He just smiled warmly while she blinked.  Slowly, a smile grew on her face as well, and she reached up to put her hand over his, leaning into it.  

“Okay, we can call it a tie,” she said quietly.

Ward started laughing again.  He grabbed her around the waist with his other hand and pulled her close to him, kissing her again.  She went happily, winding her arms around his neck and practically melting into him.  They stayed just like that for a couple minutes, stealing kisses and smiling so widely it was a miracle they didn’t knock teeth.  Skye curled her hand around the back of his neck and started playing with the short hair.  But when her fingers migrated closer to his ear, he suddenly startled and jumped away.  She was in shock for a second before she realized what happened.  

“Wait, are you ticklish?  Oh my gosh, you are!  The robot is ticklish!” she squealed.  “I’m totally going to use this to my advantage.”  

With that she launched herself at him again, trying to find that same ticklish spot and any others he might have been hiding from her.  “No!” he cried, dodging her advances.  

“Oh yes!” she yelled back, chasing after him.  

They had just reached the steps of the cabin when he suddenly turned around and wrapped his arms around her.  At first she thought it was sweet, then she realized he had effectively trapped her to where she couldn’t move.  

“Let me go!” she whined, trying to wriggle free.

“Not a chance,” he said firmly.  “A man has the right to protect himself.”

“Even from little ol’ me?” She batted her eyelashes up at him.

“ _Especially_ from you,” he laughed.  

She pouted for a second then smiled again.  “Truce?  I promise not to tickle you and you let me go?”

He hummed for a minute.  “I don’t know.  I kinda like you here.”

“Can’t deny I kinda like it myself, but somehow I think this would be more comfortable on the couch, especially with a snack.”

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.  “It’s all about food with you, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said simply.  “Please?  I’ll even throw in some fruit along with the popcorn.”

He smiled once more and gave her a quick peck.  “Truce,” he said, releasing her.  “But veggies! And no chocolate.”

“Spoilsport.”  She stuck her tongue out at him.

“You’ll get over it,” he teased back.  He grabbed her hand and led her back inside the cabin.  They’d grab the Nerf guns later.  

*   *   *   *   * 

Now that they had kissed, it was like the dam had broken.  Skye couldn’t pretend anymore, to herself or anyone else, that she was keeping her distance from him.  In their first two weeks, they had grown more comfortable with each other.  Little touches on the arm or back as they moved past each other in the kitchen, an arm around her shoulders as they watched tv on the couch, joined hands as they hiked through the woods, and that one morning he woke up to her snuggled in against his back.  He didn’t know if she was even aware of it, since he slipped out before she woke up.  (She was, she woke up when her heat source was gone and it took her a few minutes to figure out what she was looking for.)  All of that had intensified now.  

Anytime they were in the same room, they gravitated towards one another, as if pulled by some magnet.  Once they were close enough, they seemed to be in almost constant contact.  Skye would often wrap her arms around Ward from behind while he was cooking or doing something in the kitchen.  Nestling in the space between his shoulder blades quickly became a favorite of hers.  He loved playing with her hair as they were wrapped up together on the couch.  He could spend hours combing his fingers through her long, dark hair.  Whenever they were walking, they either had their arms around each other or were holding hands.  And they kissed as often as they could.  Which was a lot.  They didn’t have any chaperones or visitors up at the cabin (that was the point, after all), so there was plenty of time for them to explore the connection between them.  Then at night, they ended up completely wrapped up around each other.  It was almost like they were trying to meld into a single organism.  

One evening, Skye was brushing her teeth and Ward kept appearing behind her, pulling her hair to the side and pressing kisses along her neck.  She giggled and tried to shoo him away, but it was difficult to get her point across with a mouthful of toothpaste.  Finally, she spit and rinsed and turned to him.  “Did you get dosed with sex pollen or something?” she asked laughing.

“What?!” 

“Sex pollen,” she explained.  “You know, that stuff you see in sci-fi books and shows.  Some substance that’s basically an aphrodisiac on steroids.  Makes you so horny, you have to have sex or you either go crazy or die.  Sure seems like it got you, since you can’t even wait two minutes for me to finish brushing my teeth.”

Ward guffawed.  “Not that I am aware of.  Must just be you,” he said, pulling her to him by her hips.

Skye snorted.  “Right, because nothing screams ‘take me now’ like flannel pajama pants and a mismatched tank top.”

He nuzzled her hair and leaned to whisper in her ear.  “Prettiest flannel pants I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay then, lover boy.  Let’s go to bed.” 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!”

Skye rolled her eyes.  “What am I going to do with you?” she sighed, though there was no heat behind her words.

“Come find out,” was his reply.

*   *   *   *   * 

It was intense.  Skye knew she couldn’t stop herself, nor did she really want to try - being with him, touching him felt so right.  It was filling in holes she hadn’t even realized she had.  But there was still something holding her back.  She knew she cared for Grant, deeply, but everyone she’d ever loved had ended up leaving her.  What if she let him in, all the way, and he still left her someday?  With the intensity of a soulmate bond, she wasn’t sure she could survive that.  It was the same fear she’d lived with for years.  It was why she’d never bothered to learn more about the soulmate bond in the first place.  She hadn’t lived a life that taught her she could afford fanciful dreams like that.  There hadn’t been a place she had belonged so far, at least not entirely.  Believing that a single person could be that place was almost too much for her to believe.  But she felt herself wanting it, and wanting him.

 

Ward knew their time in the cabin was coming to a close, only a few days left.  He hadn’t been able to bring himself to asking outright what Skye wanted for their relationship moving forward, and every time he mentioned something about going back home, she’d quickly divert the conversation to focus on a restaurant she wanted to go to, or her best friend who she missed, or something at work she was looking forward to tackling.  Skye was full of contradictions.  She would be flirty and affectionate and genuinely seemed to feel fondly towards him, but she’d keep her distance if the conversation was getting too deep.  She would deflect a question about her childhood into a story about a concert she went to a couple years ago.  If he started talking about them and the future, or even referencing the soulmate bond too directly, she’d crack a joke and ham it up until he forgot where he had been going with that.  On the surface, she was accepting and even encouraging of him and the relationship, but she could be easily spooked.  Her aversion to planning ahead was suddenly seeming like less of a funny personality quirk (that still drove him crazy at the grocery store) and more of a fear-based reaction.  What exactly she was afraid of, he couldn’t pinpoint.  He had his suspicions but unless she told him, he didn’t know for sure.  

But what he did know was that he was heads over heels for her.  She had expressed her skepticism about soulmate bonds multiple times, and he had shared them to some degree.  That was before he’d really felt it himself though.  And now there was no denying it.  It wasn’t that the soulmate bond tricked him or forced him against his will to love her.  He would have, no matter what, he was sure of that.  But he could tell it progressed much more quickly and deeply that it otherwise would have.  And without that initial match, would he ever had had a good opportunity to get to know her enough to fall in love?  He wanted to shudder at the thought of never having spent this time with her, of not getting the chance to know her, and of missing out on caring for her.  So he was deeply grateful for the soulmate bond.  Who or whatever had matched them had done so brilliantly.  They were perfect complements to each other.  There was push and pull and sometimes conflict, but everything just _fit_.  The ways they were different brought them together.  

All of those thoughts ran through his head as he laid next to her, or really, around her.  She was still awake, but just barely, softly stroking his fingers.  He tightened the arm around her waist, pulling her just a little closer to him.  He felt her smile as he nuzzled her neck and she let out a contented sigh.  

“Skye,” he whispered, barely audible.

“Mmhmm?” she hummed back sleepily.

“I love you.”

“Love you too,” she answered just as she dropped off to sleep.

There was no mistaking the warmth that flooded through him as he heard that.  That last little piece of the puzzle suddenly fit right into place and the picture was completely clear.  It was the two of them together.

*   *   *   *   * 

Skye woke up alone the next morning, which was normal.  But what wasn’t normal was her racing heartbeat.  The words they’d said the night before came rushing back to her and all of a sudden it was too much.  She had said it, she had actually told him she loved him.  How was she ever going to take that back now?  The mere thought of doing that made her chest ache, but she still had this cloud of uncertainty hanging over her.  She really hadn’t expected this to happen.  When she agreed to come to this cabin, she figured it would be a nice little vacation, but it wouldn’t really work out, and she’d go back to living her life, no harm, no foul.  What reason did she have for believing something as deep and lasting as a soulmate bond would ever actually happen to her?  None.     But it had happened, it _was_ happening, and Skye had no idea what to do with it all. She'd tried to tell herself that they were just friends, or that it was just a physical attraction, but she knew deep down that it wasn't. That there was so much more to it. She'd even let herself _say_ it.

But could she really do this? Could she really let someone else in, all the way?

Her thoughts scattered when she heard the door close and Grant moving around the kitchen, probably making coffee. Knowing he would be coming in any moment, but not really ready to face him, she escaped to the shower. It wasn't much of a hiding place, the cabin was tiny and it wasn't like they had that many personal boundaries anymore. Still, they both seemed to operate by the unspoken rule that if the bathroom door was closed, they let the other person be. 

It bought her 20 minutes, but she felt at least a little bit more composed when she came out dressed and her hair in a wet bun. 

“Good morning,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek as he handed her a mug. 

“Morning,” she replied quietly.

“Already up and showered? Do you have special plans for today or something?”

Skye was confused. “Huh? No…”

“Normally I have to practically drag you out of bed at 9, but here you are all ready at 8:15.”

Skye shrugged, looking down at her coffee. “Uh, no special reason. Just felt like getting up.”

Ward eyed her curiously. She seemed a bit more subdued than he was used to seeing her. She'd normally either be still in total zombie mode this early, or talking a mile a minute after getting a shower and really waking up. Now, she wasn't looking at him, not responding to his attempts at conversation, and certainly not initiating any herself.  It worried him a bit.

“Hey,” he caught her attention by putting his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? You seem kinda quiet this morning.”

She nodded quickly and tried to force a smile. “I'm fine.” He raised an eyebrow but she hurried on, “Shouldn't you be getting in the shower? I actually tried to leave you some hot water today.”

He snickered a little, thinking about just how many mornings he'd endured a cold or at least lukewarm shower, thanks to her. “You sure you're okay?”

“Yep,” she brushed him off. “Go get clean, you're stinking up the place.”

He laughed, “But I thought you liked me like this.”

Skye wrinkled her nose. “I said I liked the _results_ of your workouts. But you dripping sweat all over the place? No, thank you.”

“I'm wounded! Alright, you win. I'm off to the shower.” He leaned down to give her a kiss, squeezing her hand as well. When she didn't respond the way she normally did, he gave her another appraising look, but decided he'd address it when he got back. 

When he did come back to the living area, she was nowhere to be seen. There was literally nowhere inside the cabin he wouldn't have seen her, but she almost never went outside without an express purpose. She liked to joke that she was ‘an indoor cat’. He looked out the windows, just to see if he could find her. Not being able to spot her, he walked outside to look. 

Even as he tried to tell himself she just wanted some fresh air or was checking something out, he couldn’t stop himself from worrying.  They had crossed a big bridge the night before.  Was she regretting saying ‘I love you’?  Had she taken off?  He had seen moments of her insecurity throughout the last few weeks, how she couldn’t bring herself to believe in the entire soulmate bond thing.  His stomach twisted painfully at the thought that she had left.  As he turned around the corner of the house, he saw the car was still in the driveway, so he knew she hadn’t driven away.  (It was technically possible that she had left on foot, but knowing Skye and just how far away they were from anything, it was more than a long shot.)   He had an overwhelming urge to find out if she was trying to leave.  Rushing over to the car, he popped the release for the trunk, and swiftly opened the lid.  

It was empty was all that registered before-

“Hey,” she said softly.  “Think I’d be hiding in a trunk?”

He jumped back and closed the lid, quickly walking over to where she was leaning against the banister of the front steps.  “I was wondering where you went.  I went back to the living room and you weren’t there.  Why’d you leave?”

Skye bit her lip, thinking.  “Truth?”

“I’d appreciate it,” he said gently.  

She looked down at her shoes.  “I got scared.”  

“Of...me?”  His face was pained at the idea that he had scared her.  

She sighed, “Of you, of me, of this whole situation.  Of how deep this got, this fast.  Of…...when it’s all going to be too good to be true and you’ll end leaving.”

That made him stagger back a half step.  “Skye, no.  That’s not going to happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I do,” he answered, so swiftly it even took him by surprise.  Reading the doubtful look on her face, he searched for the right words to reassure her.  “Because this whole soulmate thing means something.” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  “Because I’ve fallen in love with you and I can’t picture my life without you now.”  He took her left wrist delicately into his hands, pulling her focus to the words there.  “Because even if we didn’t have these words on our wrists, I’m positive that if I had ever talked to you, I still would have fallen in love with you.”

“Because,” his voice trembled just a touch, so he paused again. “I’m choosing _this_ , I’m choosing _you_.  No matter what else, I’m not going anywhere.”

Skye looked up at him, eyes shining with tears.  “Really?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“Absolutely,” he assured her, grasping her hands in his.  “Why didn’t you talk to me about this?  Did this all come up just now?”

Skye grimaced a little.  “I don’t exactly overanalyze.  I act impulsively and then freak out after the fact.”

His eyes were soft, looking at her with gentleness and adoration.  “Are you still?”

Her heartbeat thumped loudly in her ears as she really considered what he had just told her.  Giving in to the peace and calm in her heart that she hadn’t let herself feel before, she shook her head. “No, I’m good.”  She paused for a moment, then took a step closer, cupping her hand on his jaw.  “I want this. And you? What do you want?”

“What I want is to stay with you. Wherever that may be.”

She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.  His arms banded around her, pulling her flush against him, while her own arms wrapped around his neck.  He offered her every bit of stability and reassurance that he could communicate through his kiss.  And she gave back all the light and joy that were quintessentially her.  

A moment later, they broke apart to catch their breath.  A smile finally appeared on her face.  “An adventure, right?”

“The best adventure ever,” he confirmed, pulling her back in for another kiss.  


End file.
